Israel Jiménez

Israel serves as Director of EDIA & Community Engagement for Round House Theatre, working to break boundaries in order to make theatre accessible to everyone. Israel also serves in the judges panel for the Helen Hayes Awards. Before joining Round House, Israel led Theatre Under the Stars’ community engagement efforts and was host of the TUTS Spotlight Series. Israel’s play, Yo Soy Frida, won a Dorothy Webb Playwright Award at the Write Now symposium and was selected to be published as part of the second edition of the anthology, Palabras del Cielo: An Exploration of Latina/o Theatre for Young Audiences.

Ximena Varela

Ximena Varela is Associate Professor at American University, former President of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, and an enthusiastic karaoke singer. Her professional work has focused for over two decades on inclusive cultural policy, museum management, and research methodology. Her current research is in artistic director professional development, inclusive museums, and arts management history. She holds a BA degree in Business from the Universidad Católica del Uruguay, an MS in Art Management from Drexel University, and an Doctor Honoris Causa from Moore College of Art and Design for contributions to diversifying the field of Arts Management.

Dr. Genna Styles-Lyas

As Arts & Economic Prosperity Study 6 (AEP6) Director, Community Engagement & Equity, Genna’s key responsibilities include liaising with community partners and national consultants; developing and implementing resources that support engagement with the research study across cultural and arts organizations, especially those serving and centering on BIPOC communities; and all other aspects of the survey. Genna earned her Doctorate in Education in Out of School Learning focusing on Teaching Artists in marginalized communities from the University of Pittsburgh and completed her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, with a concentration on arts education, from Northcentral University. With a BFA in Acting and a minor in Musical Theater from Point Park University Genna became a member of the Actor's Equity Association, performing regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell

Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell is a Washington, D.C. -based nonprofit leader specializing in community engagement and antiracist changemaking. In April 2022 she was appointed Associate Director of Outreach and Operations at American University's Antiracist Research and Policy Center. With a 13+ year career in museums at the intersections of public engagement, social justice strategies, and DEAI changemaking, she now supports community changemakers and activist-scholars in seeking racial justice locally, nationally, and globally. Prior to this role, she served as the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s inaugural community engagement specialist and built the foundations for a new initiative building sustained relationships with historically excluded communities. She came to SAAM in 2018 as the head of public programs. Previously she developed nationally-acclaimed social justice public programming for the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Her writing is featured in recent publications The Inclusive Museum Leader, Museum Education for Today's Audiences, and Change is Required: How Museums Can Prepare for the Post-Pandemic Age. Additionally she participates in the Museum As Site for Social Action and Empathetic Museum movements. She received her Bachelor of Art in Art History from the University of Maryland, College Park and Master of Art in Museum Studies from George Washington University.

Kristina Friedgen

As an artist, Kristina Friedgen crafts virtual and live theatrical experiences that foster community and promote social action. Her work with young artists and audiences has earned her the Don & Elizabeth Doyle and Jim Rye Fellowships. She has published articles in Theatre Journal and in PARtake. Kristina is passionate about training and collaborating with the next generation of artists, culture-makers, and citizens. As the new Director of Innovation and Engagement at Sitar Arts Center in Washington DC, she is currently building a new arts-based career development program for teens young adults seeking non-traditional pathways to careers in the arts and creative industries.

Simone Booker-Isham

Simone Booker-Isham is the Assistant Manager, Marketing - Social Media & Social Impact at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A recent graduate with a Master of Arts in Art Management from American University in Washington, DC, Simone specializes in arts administration and marketing. Armed with about ten years of experience, she has had the opportunity to work in various roles spanning the cultural sector. Such positions include Research Intern & Brand Ambassador for an award-winning start-up ARTDEX and serving as the Co-Executive Director for Emerging Arts Leaders Symposium, a national annual conference for emerging arts leaders. Raised in North Carolina, she attended Florida A&M before transferring to the University of North Carolina Wilmington, graduating with a BA in Studio Arts. Simone enjoys traveling the world in her spare time, exploring for creativity and inspiration.

James Gardiner

James Gardiner is the Director of Creative Content and the Deputy Director of Marketing at the Tony Award winning Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. At Signature, James is responsible for creating video content in an effort to grow and engage Signature's audiences. During the pandemic, James was the lead producer and editor on Signature's entirely digital season. In addition to his work as a content creator, Mr. Gardiner is a Helen Hayes Award winning actor, an Adjunct Professor of Musical Theatre Performance at George Mason University, and the youngest book writer ever to have a musical produced on Broadway.

Urshula Dunn

Urshula Dunn is the current Marketing and Communications Manager at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she studied and received her bachelor's degree in Business Marketing with a minor in Economics at the University of Washington and completed a strategic marketing internship at the Adidas North America Headquarters. Working as a visual artist as her passion project, her goal throughout her career has been to find ways to combine her marketing background and love for the arts.

Danielle Van Hook

Danielle Van Hook is the Director of Youth Theatre Programs and agency manager of the One Fairfax Equity Program at The Alden/McLean Community Center. She produces The Alden’s Family Series of professional touring shows and signature arts education programs. Additionally, Danielle developed “Drive-Thru Drama”, a pandemic-based program that commissioned new works to be produced safely in the MCC’s parking lot. Previously, Danielle was in Programs and Resources at APAP and the Manager of Local Education Programs at The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. She has a BA in Arts Management with a minor in Marketing from Juniata College.

Carolyn Bartley

Carolyn Bartley serves as the Program Manager for Creative Forces®: National Endowment for the Arts’ Military Healing Arts Network. Prior to joining the NEA in 2020, Carolyn worked at Americans for the Arts as the Creative Forces Project Administrator. Before making a career change into arts administration with a focus on arts, health, and the military, Carolyn spent 15 years in the U.S. Air Force. She served in a variety of assignments to include three deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Carolyn received a MA in Arts Management from George Mason University.

Dr. Gioia Chilton

Gioia Chilton, PhD, ATR-BC, CSAC is a registered and board-certified clinical art therapist, artist and scholar who has published more than 25 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her writing has appeared in The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research, The Handbook of Arts-based Research, the Journal of Applied Arts and Health, Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health, and Cogent Arts & Humanities. With Rebecca Wilkinson, she is co-author of the textbook, Positive Art Therapy Theory and Practice: Integrating Positive Psychology with Art Therapy published Routledge in 2018, which was recently translated and published in China by Chongqing University Press.

Andrea L. Blunt

Andrea Blunt, MM, MT-BC, NMT, is a music therapist with Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine and works in the Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network at the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital Intrepid Spirit Center/Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Clinic in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Andrea is a board-certified music therapist who earned a Bachelor’s in Music Therapy at East Carolina University, a Bachelor’s in Violin Performance at James Madison University, and a Master of Music degree with two concentrations in violin performance and Suzuki Pedagogy at East Carolina University. She holds an additional certification in the specialty area of Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT). Andrea provides music therapy best practices at the Fort Belvoir Intrepid Spirit Center with active duty service members and promotes art-based collaborations in clinical and community settings. Prior to joining the Intrepid team, Andrea worked in the private sector treating active duty and retired service members, as well as a variety of other populations.